Move fast
Move slow
Move out of my way
Let's go

Cold,
the kind that chills bones,
cracks teeth,
and freezes blood.

I long for the warmth of a bath,
my self-made womb,
steaming and inviting.

I long for my bed,
soft, plush, and blanket clad,
my domain of sleep and pleasure.

Above all, I long for you,
your eyes that smoulder,
your kisses that sear,
and fingers that burn as they trace circles on my skin.

You are my spark.
And I need fire.

I was there when the cage fell,
a bystander to a new world at its dawning.

I was there when the world went black,
a slow dimming process,
one that robbed so many of their fading courage and misplaced optimism.

I was there when the window opened,
when physical nourishment was provided at the expense of human dignity.

I was there when the plague broke out,
when the whole split apart,
when the first signs of transformation began

I was there when the mirrors were lowered,
when people could finally admire their own plumage,
and envy that of those around them.

I was there when there were only a few of us left,
watching slowly as we all fell one by one,
skin erupting, backs curving, and eyes darkening.

I was there when I forgot my own name,
when my raggedy clothing finally came away from my morphing body,
when I was the last person I knew.

I was there when all that was left was colour,
a flocking mass that circled above,
a rainbow movement that drifted up and away when the cage finally opened.

I was there when the transition was complete,
but in so many ways,
I wasn't.

Scars on the inside can do just as much damage as those on the outside.
If a cut opens internally,
you could bleed out silently,
still smiling and attempting to heal the visible scars of those around you.

Fading as everything circulates,
trying to find its way to the surface.
Only after the first external cut happens,
and everything bursts out,
do people realise how bad the bleeding was.

Thunder cracks across a cloudless sky,
Creatures scamper, crawl, and fly,
The world inverts when you deny
That you were never there.

Waters freeze, and forests burn,
Children cry, and never learn
To guard the truth and love they earn
For when you were never there.

The cosmos is once again aligned
Humans, bleary eyed, emerge to find
There never was a woman so blind
Than to see you when you were never there.

For there was no cloudless sky where thunder roared,
No freezing water, or child crying left unadorned,
Just a boy who took the girl that poared
All the love she had into a heart so flawed,
A heart that was never there.